The present paper is a retrospective cohort analysis that we conducted to verify the prognostic role of pre‐operative serum carcinoembryonic antigen (CEA) level in predicting overall survival and risk of metastatic development in colorectal cancer patients. Although already evaluated by several studies, there is still lack of consensus in literature on the optimal cut‐off values which may allow for risk stratification and individualized treatments. Our results show that a pre‐operative CEA level >4.5 ng/mL correlated with a higher risk of developing distant recurrence in stage I, II and III colorectal cancer. Moreover, a pre‐operative CEA level >10 ng/mL was found to be significantly predictive of all‐cause mortality and poor disease‐free survival in patients with stage III and IV colorectal cancer undergoing potentially curative surgery.

In our study, at device removal and 1 year thereafter, a statistically significant reduction in weight was observed. Most of the patients were found to have a weight loss more than the cut-off of 20 %. The weight reached at the third month appears to be predictive of the effectiveness of endoscopic treatment. Data showed an overall dissatisfaction with procedure.

Liver haemangiomas are consistently reported to be the commonest benign liver tumours and are most often incidental findings in asymptomatic individuals. Large lesions can become symptomatic, spontaneously rupture or result in a consumptive coagulopathy known as Kasabach–Merrit Syndrome. It is believed that the female sex hormones, particularly oestrogen, have an influence on haemangioma development and growth. The optimal management of large haemangiomas during the hyperoestrogenic state of pregnancy is poorly described in the current literature. To our knowledge, we describe only the second case of a giant hepatic haemangioma resection during pregnancy.

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